Homemade Burgers

He thought they were really yummy and ate two stacked burgers. The boy said they were good, but not his favourite of my homemade burgers.

When he saw my face he backed that up with, much nicer than supermarket burgers though. I suppose I'll have to settle for that.

I thought they were excellent.

Beany and cheesey with a good smoky flavour from the cheese and spices.

Making Bean Burgers

I usually just throw all the ingredients into a bowl and mash them together when I make bean burgers, but this time I sauteed some onion and garlic, then whizzed them up with roasted red peppers, smoky vegan cheese, spices, tomato puree, a mixture of beans and some oats.

I used my favourite jarred roast peppers in these burgers, but you could roast your own. the roast flavour does add to the flavour of the burgers.

The cheese is a smoked vegan cheese and I used a mixture of haricot beans and black beans.

Violife Vegan Cheese

By now you will know that Violife is our preferred brand of vegan cheese. Graham spent the first couple of years as a vegan not eating cheese at all, as he thought vegan cheese was disgusting.

Things changed when we discovered Violife and instantly loved it. It really made coming up with meal ideas easier.

I sometimes add it to sauces and in tarts too. Oh and we must not forget about my luxurious vegan cheesecakes I make with Violife cream cheese, whipped coconut cream and vanilla. Gorgeous.

We use the original flavour block and slices for sandwiches and toasties, where it comes into it's own as it melts so well. We use their mozzarella on pizza and their Prosociano (a lot like Parmesan with that tang) on pasta.

Violife are bringing out so many new cheeses that we can't keep up, but we haven't tried one we haven't liked yet.

I used some of Violife smoked (the slices, I had them in the fridge, but you can also buy a block) in the burger mixture and the original cheddar style slices, which I topped the burgers with, grilled them to melt the cheese before stacking the burgers in buns.

Violife cheeses are made with coconut oil and contain a vegan source of Vitamin B12, which can be hard to get enough of in a vegan diet.

Taste good = tickSource of Vitamin B 12 = tick

Stacking Burgers

I stacked these cheese-topped burgers in toasted burger buns, starting with cos lettuce, slices of ripe red tomatoes and some free-from pesto. Simple but delicious.

Feel free to stack the burgers with your favourite toppings. You could think about lots of salad; hummus and caramelised onion or cream cheese with salad and mustard. You decide!

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BBQ Burgers

We all love burgers on the BBQ, but sometimes burgers fall apart. These aren't too bad, but leaving them in the fridge to chill before grilling them on the barbecue is a good idea.

My top tip for a good homemade burger on the BBQ is to pop them in the freezer to firm up a bit more, they will be more reliable when cooking.

Burger calories and nutrients

These burgers have 236 calories naked, so if you are counting calories or following the 5:2 diet you may want to serve these wrapped in lettuce leaves instead of a bun with slices of tomato and a drizzle of sweet chilli sauce.

If you are not counting calories, then just stack them high and tuck in.

These burgers are a good source of protein, iron, potassium and calcium.

instructions

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft, then add the spices and let them cook gently for a minute or two.

Add the onion mixture, beans, cheese, tomato puree and peppers to a food processor and whizz until the mixture starts to come together. Don't whizz it until it is completely smooth, you do want some texture left.

Scrape the mixture into a bowl with the oats and season with salt and pepper. Mix well and then shape into six balls before pressing them gently into patties.

The burgers can be cooked on a BBQ, grill pan or in the oven. I do find burgers are a little dry when cooked in the oven so I prefer the other methods. I grilled them on a grill pan with just a light spray of oil.

NOTES:

Burger Sauce

The perfect sauce for these burgers is my red pepper sweet chilli sauce. It's sweet, smoky and delicious! It's fat-free, very low in sodium and a good source of Vitamin A & C and only 28 calories per tablespoon. What more can you ask for? Oh yes it's delicious too.Disclosure: I created these burgers for Violife (I previously mentioned their products when I wasn't working with them but loved their products). I was not required to write a positive review and any opinions expressed are my own.

Oh Jackie!! I don't even know where to start!! I decided to make these for our supper last night, Ewan declined.. he wasn't in the mood for a bean burger. HIs loss. More for me!I used a bean medley instead of white beans as it was what I had, and of course, the black beans. I ALWAYS have them around! I also used a vegetarian cheese instead of a vegan one. I'm not fond of the taste of vegan cheeses and would do without , but of course, I needed to make this as per recipe, so.. the veggie one it was!THIS WAS SO GOOD!!!! SO DAMN GOOD!! Please tell me it freezes well.. as I have 5 burgers still.

Oh I am so glad you enjoyed them as much as we do. Yes they should freeze fine. I've never had problems freezing homemade veggie burgers. Just freeze them when you make them into patties, not after you've cooked them.

I love reading comments, so thank you for taking the time to leave one. Unfortunately, I'm bombarded with spam, so I've turned on comment moderation. I'll publish your comments as soon as I can and respond to them. Don't panic, they will disappear when you hit publish. Jac x